


Edelweiss

by FestiveFerret



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Get Together, Hanahaki Disease, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, Sacrifices
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:55:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26655499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FestiveFerret/pseuds/FestiveFerret
Summary: Tony adores his boyfriend, and he's never had any doubt that his boyfriend loves him back. Then Bucky starts coughing up flowers.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 17
Kudos: 475
Collections: Stuckony Summer Stocking 2020





	Edelweiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hundredthousands](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hundredthousands/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [hundredthousands](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hundredthousands/pseuds/hundredthousands) in the [stuckony_summer_stocking_2020](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/stuckony_summer_stocking_2020) collection. 



> For the hanahaki prompt! Hope you enjoy :D

"Hey, babe, can you pass the remote?"

"Can I pass the - okay, not only are you physically at least ten years younger than me, but you also heal at superspeed and can run a two minute mile. And you are asking me, after that ass kicking we just had in Queens today, to move my old decrepit body out of my chair so I can pass you the remote that is equidistant between us?"

"Yes." Bucky pouted adorably, and Tony almost gave in.

"The remote you don't even need because JARVIS can control every electronic device we have in the entire penthouse. That remote?"

"Yes. I like to push the buttons instead of yelling at the ceiling."

"Why?" Tony whined. "It's not like they're nostalgic for you, old man. They weren't even invented until the 50s."

Bucky grinned. "I thought you were the old man."

"Shush you." 

"You really don't want me to get up," Bucky drawled, pushing himself out of his chair.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Why not…?"

"Because then I might -" Bucky folded himself over Tony where he lay sprawled on the couch "- do this." He kissed him.

Tony hummed happily into the kiss. "My loss." Bucky's warm weight pinned him down and made him feel safe and secure. He snuck his fingers under the edge of Bucky's waistband. "Love you."

"Baby, I -" Bucky broke off, coughing furiously. He shoved himself upright and covered his face with his hands, still coughing.

"Hey, wow." Tony rubbed a hand up and down. "Slow down. Take a breath. You're okay."

The coughing broke off as abruptly as it started, and when Bucky pulled his hands away there was something in his palm. Panicking now, Tony batted his fingers away and revealed a single flower, delicate white petals on a bright green stem. 

"What…" Tony trailed off, heart thudding painfully in his chest. 

"No. I can't - I'm -" Bucky's desperate gaze met Tony's. "I love you."

Tony withered inside, heart dropping like an anvil and taking his stomach with it. "I love you too," he said softly, placatingly. "But…"

"It can't be."

"Hanahaki doesn't lie, sweetheart."

Bucky just stared down at the flower.

"You can… you can tell me? It's okay."

"There's nothing to  _ tell,"  _ Bucky snapped. "I - I have no idea. There's isn't anyone else. Tony -" He choked off. "Tony, you have to believe me. There isn't anyone else. I would never do that to you…"

"Shh, shh." Tony drew Bucky into a hug. "It's okay. I believe you, baby. I love you too. It's okay. Maybe it was just a fluke thing. It'll go away."

It didn't go away.

The flowers kept coming up over the next few days, and if anything, it was getting worse. Whenever Tony told Bucky he loved him, whenever they got too close or too amorous, Bucky would start coughing and more little white flowers would appear. And inevitably, after that, Bucky would disappear. With a huff of frustration, Bucky would shove free of Tony's hold and stomp out of the room. He'd return a few hours later, soaked with sweat, and walk straight into the shower.

Tony, for his part, had read everything on the internet, in every language he could possibly get by in, on hanahaki and the only answer was that Bucky was in love with someone who didn't love him back, or at least that he thought didn't love him back. Which meant that either Bucky didn't believe Tony when he said he loved him, or he had feelings for someone else.

Bizarrely, Tony really did believe Bucky when he said he had no clue why the flowers were coming. He seemed so honestly frustrated and confused by it that Tony had no choice but to accept that Bucky was as clueless as he was. The trouble was that he couldn't find any history of someone suffering from Hanahaki and not knowing why. r/hanahaki had tons of stories of people whose loves didn't love them back, and a few from people who'd confessed and had their feelings returned. But no one said they didn't know who it was. Everyone knew. How did Bucky not know?

But Tony loved him, and this was hurting Bucky, so Tony didn't push, didn't press, didn't make him feel any more pressured than he already was, and didn't hover over him, radiating worry. Which meant Tony still attended his usual sparring sessions with Steve, leaving Bucky to his physio with Dr. Jones. 

"Have lunch with me?" Steve asked, after Tony was sufficiently black, blue, and sweaty. "I have leftover pasta."

"Sure. Sounds great." Tony groaned and stretched. They showered in silence in the locker room, then Tony followed Steve up from the gym to his apartment. 

"I'll get this re-heating," Steve said as he dumped his bag and headed towards the kitchen. "You want salad too?"

"Sure." Tony strolled across the living room then came to a halt in front of the side table where a small glass vase displayed a bouquet of delicate white flowers laden with petals. "Uh." Tony pointed at them. "Nice flowers?"

"Oh, yeah! Edelweiss. My favorite. Always have been. Lindsey? With the cleaning service? She asked what I liked best and now every time they come, they leave a vase of them. Aren't they lovely?"

"Yeah… lovely." Tony fiddled with one of the leaves. It made a bizarre amount of sense, really. Of course Bucky was in love with Steve. It was  _ Steve.  _ Who wouldn't be? And they'd known each other forever. Maybe platonic love had morphed into romantic love so slowly, so unassumingly, that Bucky didn't notice the shift. Or maybe he'd loved him for so long that his body just finally had had enough and was screaming at him to do something about it. Either way, Steve made sense. And Tony loved him - so much - so he had to fix this.

Tony watched Steve bustle around in the kitchen, whistling to himself, then he looked back down at the flowers. "Hey, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"You seeing anyone?"

There was a brief pause. "No?"

"Can I set you up?"

"Oh. Uh. Oh." Steve stilled, a spoon hanging out in the middle of nowhere, sauce dripping off it. "I mean. Oh. Sure?"

Tony crossed the kitchen and applied pressure to the side of the spoon until it swung back over the bowl. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just… Can I confess something to you?"

"Of course."

"I just…" He cleared his throat roughly. "The reason I haven't been dating is that I have some feelings for someone I know. But they're not reciprocated, so it's fine, and I know I should move on. But it's just been a bit hard to let it go, you know. But yeah. I'm ready, I think. So sure. If you've got a date for me, I'm in."

"Oh. Well, how do you know they're not reciprocated? If you've got a chance with this person then -"

"It's - He doesn't - He's taken," Steve said firmly. "He's happy. It's okay. Set me up with your friend."

"Alright. If you're sure."

"I'm sure." Steve went back to dividing the pasta in two bowls. "What's your friend's name?"

"I'm actually going to have to ask him first, if that's okay. This was kind of spontaneous and I need to make sure he's comfortable with it."

"Oh, okay."

"You'll like him, though."

Steve smiled sweetly. "Thanks, Tony."

After lunch, Tony went straight upstairs and found Bucky on the couch with an ice pack on his shoulder. "Hey, babe. How was sparring?"

"It's Steve," Tony said.

"What?"

"I know you don't want to talk about the flowers, sweetheart, but they're hurting you. And I need you to know, it's Steve. Edelweiss. It's his favourite flower. And it's  _ Steve,  _ darling. Of course it's Steve…"

Bucky's mouth opened then closed. He rubbed his palm across his eyes with a soft sigh. "Fuck. But… but I've loved him forever. How can…?"

"I guess forever was too long. Your body can't take it anymore. This is an alert for you Bucky. Your unaddressed feelings are tearing you up. You can't ignore them. Please."

Bucky coughed roughly and spat a handful of petals into his hand. "I can't believe… but you're right. It has to be Steve. There's no one else." He dropped his face into his hands. "Tony… I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry, love." Tony brushed his hair back over and over, letting the gentle touch ground Bucky through his panic. "It's okay. Come on, it's Steve. Who isn't in love with him, huh? But you have to talk to him. Because this is hurting you. One way or another, you have to know. He has to know. And - and we'll cross whatever bridges we come to when we get to them," he added softly.

"Tony -"

"It's  _ okay."  _ Tony drew Bucky's face up again and kissed him firmly. "Sweetheart. I just want you happy, and safe, and healthy. Everything else is just semantics. Now, I told Steve I was setting him up on a blind date cause I wanted to know if he was seeing anyone, and he said that was okay. Do you want to go talk to him or do you want me to bring him up here?"

"I - I guess bring him here. And I can explain."

"Okay." Tony kissed him again, savouring it in case it was the last time. "J, invite Steve upstairs, please. Tell him I talked to the date and I want to tell him all about the guy."

"Yes, sir."

Five minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Tony got up to answer it. He let Steve in, who was looking a mix of excited and apprehensive. "Oh, hey, Buck," Steve said, when he saw Bucky on the couch. "You're in on this too, huh?"

Bucky took a deep breath. "I'm not in on it, I am it."

"What?"

"Steve… I haven't told you, because I didn't want to worry you, but for the last week and a half, I've been coughing up flowers."

Steve's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "Hanahaki?"

"Yes."

"But - oh. Shit." Steve sat down hard. "Are you okay?"

"It doesn't seem to be getting worse, but it's not exactly pleasant." He shot a look to Tony, and Steve followed his gaze.

"But you and Tony are…?"

"Yes. And we love each other. But I love someone else too, and evidently, my body won't let that lie."

"I… uh. W-who?"

Bucky dropped his gaze to the carpet for a moment, took a deep breath, then rolled his eyes back up to Steve. Tony couldn't move, couldn't breathe; everything was riding on this moment. "Come on… it's you, pal. I've loved you since nineteen twenty-nine. But I guess lately my body feels strongly that it needs saying. So. Well. I love you. Not just love you, I'm in love with you. The flower I've been coughing up. It's Edelweiss."

Steve opened his mouth again, but nothing came out. His eyes were damp. He rubbed his hand over his face and blinked heavily. "Really?"

Bucky nodded. He cleared his throat roughly, and Tony knew if he was rejected, a whole florists shop would soon be filling his living room. 

But Steve leaned in, placed a hand on Bucky's knee and said, "Of course I love you, too. I'm in love with you, too. Always. Don't cough up flowers for me, Buck. I love you."

Bucky let out a choked, gasping noise and tipped forward until Steve caught him in his arms. He rubbed his back, whispered something in his ear that had Bucky nodding and barking out a wet laugh. Ater a moment, Steve turned to where Tony was still hovering awkwardly by the door. He raised an eyebrow. "Is this the date you were talking about, or was that just a ruse to get me down here?"

Tony chuckled uncomfortably. "Nah, this was the date. If you want it. If you both want it." His chest ached. "I'll just step out and, uh, leave you two to it. And I can get my stuff later. It's - yeah." He turned to go.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked, as Bucky said, "Wait, Tony."

"What?" Tony stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He had to leave, and he had to leave soon, or he was going to say something he'd regret. 

"Where are you going?" Steve asked again.

"I'm leaving you to your date, to talk about your… you know. Feelings."

"Why did you say you'd get your things later?" Bucky extracted himself from Steve's hold and rose to his feet. "Tony… are you breaking up with me?" His voice shook.

"I mean… would we call it that? I'm… I'm stepping aside. Because you two clearly belong together. Steve was just telling me earlier he had feelings for you, and you with the flowers. It's - it's meant to be. It's okay. We'll still be friends."

"W-hat are you -?  _ Friends?"  _ Bucky spluttered.

"I wasn't talking about Bucky," Steve interrupted.

"What?" Tony turned to him.

"The person I said I had feelings for. I wasn't talking about Bucky."

"I'm - then who?"

"Tony," Steve sighed, exasperated. "It was  _ you.  _ I was talking about you. I've had feelings for you for a while now, but I didn't act on them because the two of you are together."

"But you said you love Bucky back."

"Of course I love Bucky back. I've loved Bucky back since before I knew what love was. I'm always going to love him. I'm always going to want him. But the person I was talking about earlier was you. I don't… I don't want to be the reason you and Bucky break up. I don't want to hurt either of you. Tony… I really don't want you to go."

"Please don't break up with me," Bucky begged softly. 

"Bucky…" Tony groaned. He scraped his nails back through his hair. "I don't know how to fix this."

Bucky caught Tony around the waist with one arm and cupped his cheek with the other. "Do you have feelings for Steve, at all?" he asked softly. 

"I -" Tony looked over Bucky's shoulder to where Steve was standing by the couch, looking down at his clasped together hands. "I mean… yeah? But -"

"Don't go, Tony. Stay for our date. That's what he's trying to say. Stay for  _ our  _ date."

"All three of us?"

"Yes," Steve called from the other side of the room, and damn his supersoldier hearing. "I don't see why anyone has to get hurt or be left behind."

"I'm - well." Tony blinked for a moment, hands on his hips. "I guess that's why they call you a master strategist, huh?"

Steve grinned. "Guess so." 

Tony shuffled further into the room, closer to him. "You love Bucky."

"Yes."

"And you have feelings for me."

"Yes."

"And Bucky you love Steve."

"Yes."

"And you love me."

"Yes."

"And so by some absolute miracle, I get to have both of you?"

Bucky smiled and pulled him in, kissing him soundly before releasing him. "Looks like it."

"Well, shit. Where do you guys want to go on our date?"

Steve wrapped his arms around both of them and drew them in for a three-way hug. "I will go anywhere at all, in the whole wide world, as long as I'm going there with you two."


End file.
